the birthday
by Hell's own
Summary: Its Beckett's birthday, but surprisingly, Castle remembers it instead of her!


**A Castle- Beckett (Caskett) fanfic. Its been quite a long time since i wrote one.. Read on, and temme how it is!**

His footsteps echoed throughout the precinct. The others would have left long ago, but she would still be there. He visualized her poring over her mother's case files, going through them again and again, her hawk-like eyes scanning for the minutest details that might have gone unnoticed. She would never give up.

Even before he stepped into the sea of cubicles, her husky voice rang out.

'What are you doing here, Castle?' The voice was half-amused, half-irritated.

'Aaah Beckett. Nothing. Just wondering what you were upto.' Castle replied and sat down.

'Haven't you got any other place to go? Parties to attend? Boobs, uhh… books to sign? Mayors to please?' Beckett asked.

'Not really. I'm just a free bird tonight. Want some coffee?' Castle offered.

'Sure. Its been quite a day' Beckett said, gesturing vaguely to a table filled with documents, case files and paperwork.

Castle rose, and walked gracefully to the coffee machine. Beckett watched him go.

_He certainly is a nice man. A big pain-in-the-ass surely, but… he's good-looking, a charmer, and seems to genuinely care about me, _she thought.

_But I can not afford to fall in love. I can not trust anyone, certainly not enough for him to live with me even after he comes to know what I've been through. I'll just hurt Castle more._ Beckett frowned.

'Have I ever mentioned how unbearable sexy you look when you frown? By the way, what made you frown?' castle asked, placing a steaming mug of coffee on Beckett's desk.

'Nothing Castle. I was just thinking of my mother's case.' Lying came easily to Beckett, after all these years with the NYPD.

Castle couldn't be fooled easily though. He was a writer, after all.

'No Beckett, you weren't. It was something else. Well, if you don't wanna share, fine with me' Castle said.

'Castle, I need to get back to work. Go sit in a corner and swat some mosquitoes or something' she said, and gave him a small smile.

Castle scowled and got up.

'Hey, have I ever told you how close you resemble a prime ape when you scowl?' Beckett said, and laughed.

Just then, Castle's phone rang.

'Castle… yes mother… what is it? WHAT? Oh! I'll be right there!' Castle disconnected the call.

'What happened Castle?' Beckett asked.

Castle turned silently to look at

Beckett. His face was white.

'Alexis…' he said in a strangled whisper.

'What happened to her?' Beckett asked.

'My daughter had an accident. She's at home now', his voice barely a whisper.

'Didn't anyone take her to a hospital?' Beckett asked, tensed. Alexis was like a daughter to Beckett. She also knew that Castle loved his daughter more than anything in the world.

'Let's go Castle. I'll drop you home' Beckett said.

Castle silently handed her the keys to his sedan.

Castle and Beckett got out of the precinct, made their way out of the building, and stepped into Castle's car. Beckett drove, almost impatiently, to the suburbs of Manhattan where "the" Richard Castle lived.

The tension in the air was almost tangible as soon as they got out of castle's car.

The elevator chimed, and the doors opened. Castle and Beckett got off the elevator. Somewhere, the clock struck twelve and church bells rang at a distance.

_Start of another day, _Beckett thought. _I have to see how Alexis is and go home and grab some sleep before I go hunting for criminals again._

Beckett turned the doorknob, and was met with total darkness. Castle moved past her, mumbling, 'The switch is here somewhere..'

He brushed past her, and she felt like a million watts of electricity had passed between them.

As she stood, tangled in thoughts, /castle switched on the lights. Before her eyes could adjust to the sudden brightness, about twenty voices sang out "Happy birthday Kate!". Today was her birthday! She had forgotten, but Castle hadn't! When her eyes regained focus, she saw everyone who belonged to the little world of hers- Captain Montgomery, Detective Jake Ryan, Detective Javier Esposito, Dr. Lanie Parish, Alexis Castle, Castles mother, Martha Rodgers, and some other officers from the twelfth precinct.

In the middle of the group stood the man who had given her everything. The man who was responsible for her becoming "Detective Kate Beckett". As she watched him, he walked up to her and hugged her.

'Happy birthday Katy', he whispered.

'Thanks Dad. Thanks a lot' Beckett replied.

'Time to cut the cake!' castle's mother sang.

Beckett walked over to the cake, and her eyes widened in surprise. The cake was a simple slab of rich chocolate, with royal crème icing. Castle had baked it himself. It was Beckett's favorite. On it was written "love from all of us at the 12th (and from Lanie the morgue)". Beckett ginned and cut the cake. Everyone sang the birthday song again and doused her in snow spray.

It was 3 a.m. All the guests had left, and Alexis and Martha had retired to bed. Castle was cleaning up, and Beckett tried helping him, but in vain. Castle refused to let her touch anything. O Beckett settled on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate which Castle had made for her.

Castle finished cleaning up and joined her. Beckett smiled at him. He made a moony expression and said, 'aaaaah! What I would do, just to see that smile'. He sighed, content and blissful. Just looking at her made him joyous.

'You know what Castle? I just wish… I just wish my mother was here today. Celebrating with me' Beckett smiled, but her smile wavered, and she suddenly lapsed into silent tears.

Castle was startled. He had dealt with the various moods of Katherine Beckett, but he had never seen her break down. Beckett was a strong woman. He moved closer to her, took her in his arms, and cradled her like a small child. She felt safe in Castle's strong arms. She turned to look at him. He leaned in and whispered 'Happy birthday Kate'. And then, slowly, he took her face in his hands. His lips met hers softly. Beckett was shocked by the affection in his kiss. She responded passionately. Suddenly, Castle broke the kiss. It left Beckett reeling.

'I'll be back', he said and went into his study.

Castle thought, _I have never loved any woman so much. She's just so… fragile. I don't want to let her go… ever!_

He searched for the box. He found it in his safe. He took it and went to Beckett.

'Open it Kate' he said, with a child-like urgency in his voice.

Beckett undid the satin ribbon and opened the box slowly. Inside the box, nestled in soft black velvet, was a dazzling platinum necklace with a pendant bearing her name in solitaires.

'I can't possible accept this Castle! It must be very exp..' Beckett's words were silenced by a swift kiss, following which Castle fished the chain and clasped it around Beckett's neck.

'Its beautiful Castle' Beckett breathed, but only after she kissed him back.

'Nothing's ever more beautiful than you Beckett. Except my Alexis of course! And hey Kate, glad to see you letting your guard down some times' Castle grinned.

'New Louboutins! Birthday present I assume?' Lanie observed.

'Yep. From yours truly' Beckett bowed slightly.

'So who's that from?' Lanie asked, pointing to the necklace on Beckett's neck.

'That? From someone very, very special. My mystery man' Beckett winked, and exited the morgue with a sly, nevertheless shy smile…

**So guys, this is my first fanfic after a loooong loooong time… reviews are appreciated! :D **


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